Neville's search for his toad, Trevor
by BigRedLiAn
Summary: Not everyone was having as nice of a time, their first time onboard the Hogwarts Express, as Harry and Ron were having. Some had a serious mission to accomplish. Like Neville, who had lost his toad, Trevor. Again. And had to find him. Again. Meeting new people on the way. School Project Fanfiction. We do not own H.P. Bless JK Rowlings and all her characters. Do enjoy


Neville stood at Platform 9¾ at the King's Cross Station with his grandmother, Augusta, surrounded by children and their parents hurrying to catch the train. The Hogwarts Express. He faintly heard his grandmother's voice listing the items from the first-year shopping list, but he was not paying attention. Rather his mind was elsewhere, thinking of magic and the possibility of new friends and Hogwarts itself. Having to run through a wall to get here. It was all so very strange yet so familiar, having heard stories from his relatives. About their years at Hogwarts, the friends they made and the things they learned, how it was the best years of their lives. He was excited about the thought of being so close to experience these things for himself. Absentmindedly he pet the toad he had atop his palm, feeling it croak under his fingers.

'Neville. Neville,' Augusta said, fixing the collar of Neville's' shirt. 'Do you have everything?' she asked, and Neville nodded, holding up the palm of his hand where Trevor, his beloved toad sat.

Augusta nodded and wiped some imaginary dust of his shoulder.

'Well then, you better be on your way,' she gave a slight smile and handed over the boys' suitcase. He straightened up and put the toad in his pocket before climbing the stairs and aboard the train.

'Now you behave and work hard,' Augusta said and nodded. What she wanted to say was something along the lines of Try to make our family name proud. Neville nodded and put a hand to his pocket.

'Gran, I've lost my toad again,' Neville said, looking onto the floor around him.

'Oh, Neville…'

A whistle sounded.

'Be good!' she said while the train began to pull away. Neville waved out the window along with all the other children hanging out to see their parents before the train left the station. He looked at his suitcase which he had put on the floor and decided that it was time to find Trevor. Kneeling down, he began to look within the case. Rifling through the neatly folded clothes as well as in between the large books. Nothing. Shutting the suitcase with a snap, he began to crawl on the floor.

'Trevor,' he called out, not expecting a response. It was a toad, after all. But hopefully the toad would come out at the sound of a voice. That sounded reasonable, he thought. As he was crawling through the corridor, he heard excited voices of children, talking about how wonderful Hogwarts would be and how it was to be the best years of their lives. It would be the same to him, he decided. If it did not come to him, he would do all in his power to take it. Hogwarts was going to be magnificent.

Suddenly he saw a pair of shoes in front of him. Children's shoes, most likely a first year, like himself.

'Hello,' the owner of the shoes said, and Neville looked up. The first thing he noticed was the hair. A girl with large bushy brown hair and a new Hogwarts robe. Now he wasn't sure if he were to feel foolish for not wearing his robe or to feel for her, as she may be the only one in a robe. He decided not to think about it too much.

'What are you up to?' the girl asked. Neville stood up and wiped off his knees.

'I've lost my toad. Again,' he complained, picking up his suitcase and putting his other hand in his pocket.

'I'll help you find it,' the girl said and reached her hand out. Neville fumbled for a second as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and grabbed the suitcase so he could accept her handshake. Must've looked ridiculous, he thought.

'My name's Hermione Granger, what's yours?' the girl, Hermione asked as they shook hands.

'Neville Longbottom,' he answered and smiled. A first new friend. Hogwarts was already going according to plan.

'Pleasure to meet you, Neville Longbottom. Now, let's find your toad,'.

The pair began their search in the compartment closes to them. Inside sat a girl, about their age, with long blonde hair and a pair of strange glasses. They looked blue, but then they didn't. Then they shimmered, but then they didn't. Neville couldn't decide if it was his mind playing tricks on him, a trick of the light or simply magic.

'Hello,' Hermione said to the girl, stepping inside of the doors. 'You haven't happened to have seen a toad?' she asked, and the girl contemplated for a moment, putting her finger to her mouth while she did.

'I do think I have seen a toad,' the girl said, and Neville stepped in next to Hermione, looking hopeful as ever.

'Really? Where is it now?' he asked, looking wide eyed at the strange girl.

'Hm,' she began, 'I think I have seen a toad once upon a time. But not since I stepped onto this train,' she concluded as Neville's' face fell. All hope of finding Trevor disappearing as quickly as it had come.

'Okay then,' Hermione said and stuck her hand out for the girl to shake. 'Thank you for your help, my name is Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom. The toad belongs to him,' she said, and the girl shook her hand with a concerned look on her face.

'I'm Luna Lovegood. I'm sorry about your friend, Neville. I do hope you find him,' she said and looked at Neville who nodded.

'We should continue, then,' Hermione said and stepped out of the compartment back into the corridor. Neville followed, after having exchanged looks with the strange girl. It was something about her he could not quite grasp. The strangeness of her, how her glasses looked a different colour at first, but changed at a second look. How she spoke. After all, he decided, he was going to a school of wizards. Some strangeness there had to be.

'Oh Trevor… Why must I always lose you.' Neville said, more to himself than to anyone else. Not that Neville was the only one at fault for Trevor's missing. That toad was a master escapee who always found ways to escape his owner. Hermione, however, must have felt compelled to not leave any spoken word left un-commented  
'You need to keep your possessions organized, or you will, evidently, lose them.' Hermione said as they continued on into the next carriage. She was of course right, Neville's uncle always told him to not be such an airhead. This was usually said with the company of a slap to the back of Neville's head, which, if anything, left him truly feeling a little lightheaded.  
This carriage was different to the other ones. Well, not by looks, the corridor was the same, the windows were the same and the lack of Trevor's direct appearance also seemed to be the same. However, this carriage seemed cooler, dimmer and for some reason made Neville feel like he should keep his chin to his chest with his eyes on the floor. It was making him nervous, just stepping into the corridor, giving him chills all the way up his back. Hermione however did not seem to have any problem at all with the change of atmosphere as she just strode right up to the first compartment and knocked on the slide-door. A moment of silence followed before the slide door was slid open.  
'Good Day. Pardon us, my name is Hermione Granger, and this is Neville Longbottom. Have you perhaps seen a toad familiar in this carriage?'  
Neville did not dare to rise his chin to look up at whoever opened the slide door, instead, he was looking at the well-polished shoes of the, whoever it was. They looked brand new and expensive.  
'A toad? A cheap filthy toad in this carriage?' The occupier of the compartment said with disgust.  
Neville's eyes snapped up at the insult of his beloved Trevor, but he stayed quiet. The voice belonged to a short, white blonde boy with piercing grey eyes. He must be one of the Malfoys. Gran had often told him about the biggest wizarding families around, and how the Longbottom family, just like the Malfoys, was one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Which were the only remaining still truly pure-blooded families around. The Malfoy family was a very affluent family with lots of power. This, they liked to show off too, if what Neville's grandmother knew of them where any proof.  
'Couldn't afford a proper familiar, huh, peasants? A toad must be the most useless and ridiculous familiar of all.' Malfoy sneered and looked back to the other two children sitting in the compartment. They burst out laughing at the comment. They looked mean too. Hopefully Trevor were smart enough of a toad to have stayed away from people like these. But then again, how would you know if a toad is smart or dumb? Maybe their dumb means something completely different to our dumb? Oh, Trevor… I truly wish that you are a smart toad…  
Hermione, seemed to be very unimpressed by Malfoy's bad attitude and rolled her eyes, in a very exaggerative manner.  
'Oh rubbish. I'll have you know that toads have been thought to have lots of magical curing properties during the Dark Ages. I've read it. Have you seen a toad on the train, or not?' She asked as she put her hands to her sides.  
The Malfoy boy side-eyed Neville who put a lot of effort into staring back. Hopefully the stare was perceived as strong and not as awkward, because Neville's stares are usually perceived as awkward.  
'What a dumb question. If we were to see a toad, we would stomp it. It would be a kindness.' He scoffed.  
Neville was not sure if this meant that they had seen a toad or not, but it seemed like they had experience in toad-stomping. And that was worrisome.  
Neville cleared his throat nervously.  
'Well, if you haven't seen my toad, I'll just keep looking. Thank you anyway. Bye.' He stuttered out and gave a quick nod of his head before he stepped around Hermione to continue looking, ignoring the other two slide doors to pass into the next carriage. He could see Hermione stand a bit straighter behind him, before she spun around and hurried after him.  
'That boy was an insufferable prick. The Audacity. Who does he think he is?' She said as she reached Neville at the end of the corridor.  
'Ah, he's a Malfoy. It's just the way they are. I'm sure it's nothing personal.' He reassured her as they moved on into yet another identical carriage. Merlin's beard, this train never ends. Trevor must be leaping around so very lost. Or maybe not. A wizard-familiar would do just fine onboard of a big wizarding train. Right? Maybe Trevor was happier being left unfound. Neville looked out the window of the train and saw mountains with massive bodies of water in-between. Uncle Algie had told him about Hogwarts being located among great mountains and lakes. So maybe they were arriving soon?  
Hermione was quick to interrupt his thoughts with the answer, when she too, stepped up to the window to look out at the passing scenery outside.  
'We must be arriving soon.' She said excitedly, turning to Neville.  
'Yeah, it seems so.' He answered.  
'Maybe you should go change into your robes? It is mandatory for us to be in our robes upon arrival. I'll continue searching this carriage for your familiar, Neville.'  
She was of course right. Again.

'Thank you, for your help. Uh, Hermione. Please tell me right away if you do find him.' Neville said.  
'Of course. Now off you go.' Hermione answered.  
'I'll be on my way then. Bye for now.' He said and turned back towards the toilets to change into his first-year uniform.

Neville put on his robes quickly.

What if Trevor is still on the train when they have all gotten off?

How could he begin his first year at Hogwarts, without his familiar? His beloved toad? What was he going to do? He contemplated staying behind, just to really look thoroughly.

In the blink of an eye, there was no one left on the train and the platform was overflowing with children, all now in robes. He caught the last chance, running through all carriages and searching the whole train again, he still found nothing. He stayed on the train, pacing back and forth. What was even the point of changing into robes? He might not be allowed to study anyway. The instructions said that students may bring a familiar, but only an owl, or a cat, or a toad. It was not mandatory, but everyone had a familiar, Neville swore it. Trevor had even been a gift from his uncle Algie! What would he say if he found out? Toss him out a higher window maybe? Maybe he didn't need to get off the train.

As he stood there, questioning himself, he heard someone shout

'Anyone still on the train?!'+

'Neville!' He heard Hermione's voice exclaim.

Hermione had then apparently run back onto the train to get him. Neville wanted to protest but Hermione had pulled him off the train, onto the platform with all the other children.

'Are you mental? I will help you find it. Trust me, Neville!' She said.

'I don't think we'll find him…' Neville admitted, feeling ashamed, with tears at the rim of his eyes.

'Don't think too much now. Leave it to me.' said Hermione.

'Put on your robes, well, and we can think of a plan later.' She gave his lop-sided robe a pat and ran up ahead to a couple of other children.

Neville shifted his robes, until it felt like it was somewhat in place. Or better than before, at least. Then he caught up to Hermione and the others. They were talking to someone. A giant?

The giant turned to Neville.

'Got lost on the train, did we now?' Mr giant asked.

'He lost his familiar, we should help him. Right, Mr Hagrid?' Hermione explained before Neville could.

Hagrid roared with laughter.

'Just Hagrid, please. We'll find it. Come on!' Hagrid turned back to the front of everyone and began leading the way. Somewhere.

Neville was still very nervous, but so was probably each and every one of the first-years, Neville's nervousness was, however, mainly caused by Trevor's absence right now. Maybe that was a good thing? He wasn't nervous about being sorted into a house that would be function as his family for the remainder of his years at Hogwarts. Oh, there it came back…

'Oh Trevor… Why must I always lose you. I hope that I will find you as soon as possible.' he said to himself.

Neville followed the others and he Hagrid's shadow in the distance, holding a large lamp in his hand. It reminded him of a street lamp.

'First-Year students, follow me! Come on!' shouted Hagrid over them.

They followed him to the Great Lake's docks, where there were several small boats waiting for them.

'No more'n four on each boat! No one is allowed to touch the water, and nothing can fall into the lake! Don't make any sound, whatever you see! Got it? Little ones, FORWARD!' Hagrid explained to them.

Hagrid had taken the first boat alone, followed by the others, with three to four on each boat. Neville got onto one of the boats, along with Harry Potter, it seemed. Their boats all glided on their own and did not need anyone to row. It was magic, of course. Which was making Neville giddy. Soon he too would be a part of this.

Neville didn't know any of the other children on the small boat. Except, of course, Harry Potter. Because, everyone knew about him. However, a girl, sitting next to him, leaned towards him and asked, in hushed voice

'Have you found your familiar yet?'

It seemed that he had successfully forgotten about Trevor for a second. Being asked about it though, made his nervousness return. He looked back at her and shook his head.

'I might probably never find him again.' Neville said, his voice trembling a little.

'Your toad seems like a master escapee indeed, but it is not certain that he won't come back. Don't worry about it too much. It's not like it was your fault.' The girl comforted him.

Another boy, in the boat next to theirs, shared his input.

'While that might be true. I actually heard that someone, once, didn't get to stay at Hogwarts because of losing his cat familiar. He had to go back home and wasn't allowed back until he had bought a new one. You have to know that this is the most basic admission requirement to study in Hogwarts.' The boy lied, not even bothering to hide his smirk as his words really seemed to get to Neville.

Hearing this, Neville started to cry. He didn't want to go back home because of this. Just because he lost his toad, on his first day. His uncle Algie, would probably not be surprised, but he would be so disappointed and need to discipline Neville again. What if he didn't bounce off the ground, this time. If he got tossed out a window, that is. He would be such a disgrace to the Longbottom name. His grandma, Augusta Longbottom, would be devastated.

'That is just bosh. How could you know? The same thing does not happen to all people. Nothing is absolute. Neville, don't listen to him. Stop crying. Everything will be alright.' She whispered to Neville.

Neville did not know what was going to happen later. He knew that the red-ish haired girl was right, but he could very well imagine that the boy was too.

This is when, something huge appears in the water, a giant squid, making all the boats sway. Everyone was spooked and were hanging onto their boats for dear life. Some of the other children, even shrieked, the boy on the boat next to Neville included.

'Keep quiet. Don't disturb him. He just comes out to stretch. He's harmless.' Hagrid reassured them, from his boat in the front.

The squid's appearance made Neville forget about Trevor for a little while, instead he felt scared. Could that be an improvement? Eventually they came close enough to the castle and everyone was stunned. Neville did not seem to be as surprised as the others, his uncle had already told him how grand Hogwarts looked, both inside and outside. Although it was way grander than he imagined it to be. They slid through a dark tunnel and the boats finally came to a stop at the shore. They had arrived. The knot in Neville's stomach somehow got tighter.

When everyone was climbing out of their boats Neville hear Hagrid shouting.

'Oy, you there! Longbottom! Is this your toad?'

Neville runs up to Hagrid and takes a look. The knot disintegrated and he had to blink his tears of relief away. He was so relieved that Trevor was back with him. All his worries and fears disappeared for a moment. Finally. He exhaled and stuffed Trevor into the pocket of his robes.

'I will make sure to take good care of you Trevor. We're at Hogwarts now. And we are going to stay.'


End file.
